holiday signing! and book gift guide12.05.2013

On Saturday, December 14th, I’ll be part of the Orem Library’s Holiday Author Extravaganza. This is one of my favorite events of the year and I love the Orem Library. Books will be available for sale or you can bring them (but please but something on-site to support the library if you can). Lots of other authors and illustrators will be there. We’ll have an author panel from 10:00-11:00 a.m. and then a signing from 11:00 a.m.-noon. This is my last scheduled signing until the spring, so I’d love to see you there.

And now, my annual holiday book-buying post! (Click these links for the 2012 and 2011 versions.) This post is fun to write. I’m actually going to keep adding to it for the next week or so, so please come back and see the updates. I love buying books for the holidays. It is my favorite thing. Happy holidays to all of you, and happy reading!

HOLIDAY BOOK-BUYING 2013

First of all, buy yourself a gift and pre-order this book–THE END OR SOMETHING LIKE IT–by Ann Dee Ellis. It won’t be out until spring, but you will be very glad you did. I don’t want to ruin anything for you or say too much, but no one writes like Ann Dee Ellis. Her characters are real and have heart and she has a spare, lovely, true style that is nothing else you will read.

Do you know anyone who loves beautiful art, nature, our National Parks, America? Then ART OF THE NATIONAL PARKS is a perfect gift. “With more than 450 artworks, this glorious, large-format book is a must for anyone who has hiked the trails, watched a sunset, marveled at buffalo herds, or yearned to experience our nation’s mythic and transformative vistas.” Amen. And my mom, a professional studio artist, has pictures in the Zion National Park section.

This one is for history buffs, world travelers, or anyone who wants to know more about cultures and history around the world: A HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN 100 OBJECTS. I picked it up at the British Museum this spring and loved reading it (and was humbled by how little I knew of the world outside of Western culture). A disclaimer: gory, graphic, difficult things happened in history, so you may not want to hand it to your kids (as I originally thought I would do once I finished it).

I love to give this book (WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE MOON) to people I adore. It’s such a jewel of a book, both in the writing and the gorgeous illustrations, that I feel like I only want to gift it to people who will truly appreciate it. Luckily, that’s just about anyone who adores good stories–children love it, adults love it.

My go-to book for those who need a great book club read, or a read for teens that will be a tremendous amount of fun, is ACROSS A STAR-SWEPT SEA. I’ve blogged about this book before, but it’s a retelling of THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, set in a dystopian world that is based on the Pacific Isles.

For middle-grade readers (and again, anyone who likes storytelling), I recommend this series by Adam Gidwitz (which I have also recommended on the blog before). I laugh, I cry, I sigh over a perfect line every time I read these books, and so does my ten-year-old (okay, maybe not the sighing, but he does notice that “this author is a REALLY GOOD author”).

I think that’s all for this go-around. 2013 was a great year for reading. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, and that there are many great reads ahead for you in 2014!